Carrier for pneumatic-despatch tubes.



No. 863,456. VPATENTE) AUG.13, 1907.

M. o. SCHWAB.

CARRIER lPOR PNEUMATIG DESPATCH TUBES.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 19, 1907.

mEP'Tzs 5270655615: Kawa/@far UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CARRIER FOB PNEUMATIC-DESPATCH TUBS.

l clear, and exact specification.

The invention relates to carriers adapted for use pneumatic-despatch and other despatch systems.

In despatch systems it is common to provide a central station and a series of outlying stations with means for conveying carriers from the outlying stations to the central station and for returning each carrier from the central station to the particular outlying station-from which it is received. A familiar example is the cash desk and the outlying salesmens stations in common use in mercantile establishments. In order that each carrier may be returned from the central station to the salesman or other designated person from whom it is received, it has been common heretofore to provide.

each carrier with means by which it may be designated by a number or other distinguishing characteristic corresponding to the number or mark of the individual for whom intended at the outlying station. This manner of marking the carriers has made it necessary to keep lists of each of the individual marks or designations, which are commonly numerals, at the central station in order that the outlying stations to which the carriers are returnable may be determined. It will be seen that this causes an undue amount of labor on the part of operators at the central station who find it necessary to classify each of the individual marks'or designations by its respective outlying station or substation. This must be done by either memorizing all of the individual marks and memorizing the classication of each mark by outlying stations, or by referring to classified lists of the individual marks or designations, each time a carrier is to'be returnedA to its respective outlying station.

In despatch systems particularly adapted for th carrying of parcels and the like, 'it is common to provide a plurality of sub-stations adapted to receive and send carriers, all of which sub-stations communicate directly with a central station. ln such an arrangement, when it is desired to pass a carrier from one substation to another, the carrier is passed first to the cen-V tral station, thence it is passed to the .desiredl substation'. In other words, the sub-stations do not communicate with each other except through the central station. In such systems it has been common heretofore to provide each carrier with means by which it may be designated by a number or other distinguishing Specication of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 19,1907. SerialNo. 353,086.

Patented Aug. 13, 1907.

tions as already pointed out, viz., that in switching the carriers at the central station, the classification of each individual mark must be kept in the mind of the operator or such a list constantly referred to, thus occasioning loss of time, and labor.

The primary object of this invention is to provide improved means for marking or designating individual carriers by their respective outlying stations or substations in order that the carriers may be returned from the central station to the proper outlying .stations without reference to the individual markings on the carrier, reference to the marking designating the sub-station only being necessary; or when it is desired to pass the carriers from one sub-station to another, it is the primary object of this invention to provide improved means for marking or designating the carriers by the respective sub-stations or outlying stations to which they are to be sent, such marking or designating making it possible to pass the carriers through the central station without reference to the individual markings on the carrier.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved means for marking carriers by which the carrier maybe conveniently marked for return to the original sender when for any cause itis desirable that the carrier should be returned to the person or point whence originally despatched.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved means formarking carriers by outlying station or sub-station designations, which marking may be used in combination with the ordinary individual marking of carriers by individual designations and which may be readily distinguished from the individual markings, thus preventing confusion of the tw systems of marking.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved means for marking or designating carriers by Which the mark or designation will be visible to an operator in al1 of the ordinary positions in which the carrier may be presented tothe eye of the operator,

thus avoiding the necessity of handling the carrier in order to search for the mark.

To the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new and useful objects as .will appear, the invention consists in the eaturesof novelty in the construction, combination and arrangement of the several parts, hereinafter more fully described and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings, illustrating an exemplifcation of this invention and in Which- Figure 1 is a side elevation view of a carrier embodying the invention. ward end of the carrier. The view discloses the forward part of the carrier in the same relative position as in Fig. l but has the adjustable band removed in order to disclose the arrangement lof the color designations. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view on line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a horizontal sectional view taken on Fig. 2 is a. broken view of the forline 4-4, Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a vertical cross sectional view on line 5 5, Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is a vertical cross sectional view on line 6 6, Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a broken view showing the manner in which the adjustable color band may be set to disclose to view a combination of two colors instead of a single color, as illustrated in Fig. 1.

1 is the cylindrical wall or shell of a common carrier. It is made of any suitable material, preferably leather, and over one end the collar 2 is mounted. This collar is constructed to slide over the 'exterior of shell 1 and is firmly secured thereto, forming an enlarged portion, the outer surface of which is adapted to contact with the walls of the tube. Near the collar 2 is a hinged door 3, which permits the opening of the end of the shell.

In order to permit the attachment of the designating systems hereinafter described, the shell at the end opposite the door is provided with a metallic cylindrical extension indicated by the numeral 4 and attached to the shell l by any suitable means, as, for example, the retaining rivets 5. The outer extremity of the metallic extension 4 is provided with an enlarged felt buffer (i, the diameter of which corresponds approximately to the diameter of the collar 2 at the opposite end of the carrier. The material in buffer 6 is, as stated, ordinary felt but may be of any suitable elastic material in order to check the momentum of the carrier when striking an object at the end of its journey, as for example, the delivery table. A suitable ring or gasket 7 ol elastic material, as rubber, leather or the like, is ordinarily inserted between the buffer 6 and the metallic cylinder 4 and being of larger' diameter than the buffer 6 forms a gas or air-tight contact with the walls of the tube. The metallic section 4 of the shell is provided with flange or collar 4, preferably integral with the shell 4. Closely fitting rings or bands 8 and 9 of suitable material, preferably metal such as brass and the like, encircle shell 4, their lateral edges lieing in contact with each other and the ring or band 9 being flush against the flange 4 and held in position thereby. The band Sl is provided with a series of numerals. The b-.tnd 8 is provided on its outer surface with corrugations (see Fig. l) in order to permit of its adjustment in relation lo the shell of the carrier. It is not provided on il s outer surface with nuint-,rals as the band 9, but has a single opening l() for the purpose of disclosing to view numerals appearing on the outer surface of shell 4 underneath this band. ln the use of a marking system comprising adjustable bands 8 and i) and their related numerals, espeeally where the numerals run on eaeh band, as in the present embodiment from l to ZO-and they may run much higher on the larger sizes of carriers-it is possible by constructing both bands 8 and 9 adjust able, to secure a very large number of combinations. lt will be apparent also that the number' of combinations may be increased almost indefinitely by Ihe addition oi bands similar to 9 having numerals on their exterior surface. lt will also b'e apparent that the band 8 is used as the indicator and to nd the indicated number of the carrier, it is necessary Iirst to ready the numeral disclosed by the marker .10 and to annex thereto the figures opposite on the band 9.

Between the band 8 and the forward end of the carrier color-indicating band 11 is interposed. This band surface of the metallic shell 4,. extending entirely` around' the shell, is slightly depressed. This depression is a little less in width than the width of the band, thus affording surfaces at the sides of the band for it to rest upor'i. The depressed portion of the surface ofthe shell 4 is provided with coloring material and the fact that this surface is depressed prevents the band 11 from contacting with the coloring material and mutilating or erasing it. The numeral 14 indicates the band of coloring material and by reference to the illustration (see Fig. 2) it will be seen that the colors white, green, red, yellow and black are -in alternate arrangement in the band 14, there being four groups of these colors, each group corresponding toone of theapertures l2 in the band 11, which arrangement causes each of the apertures 12 to disclose the same colors simultaneously; for example, in Fig. 1 the color white is disclosed while in Fig. 7 a combination of the colors green and red is shown. Thus it will be seen that in the present embodiment of the invention, the indicator ll may be set for any one of the five colors, white; green, red, yellow and black, or if a greater number of markings be required, combinations of adjacent colors may be used as indicated in Fig. 7, thus running the total number of distinct markings in the present embodiment to ten. It will also be' apparent that in the larger sizes of carriers the number of colors employed maybe materially increased or this may be accomplished even in smaller sizes by decreasing the size of the color surfaces. An increased number of color markings may also be secured by providing the band 11 with only 'two or three apertures, instead of four as shown, which will make it possible to increase the number of color markings. In the use of a carrier marked as described, it will be seen that an operator at a central station or at a cash desk will find it unnecessary to inspect the numeral marking which discloses the individual or desk for whom the carrier is intended but it will only be necessary to note the marking disclosed by the indicator ll in order to determine the outlyintT station or sub-station to which the carrier is returnable.

When the carrier is desired for use in despatch systems particularly adapted to the interchange of parcels, correspondence and the like, it is common to provide a central station which is in direct communication with the plurality of sub-stations, the sub-stations communicating with each other through the central station. It will be apparent that the invention is admirably adapted ior use under such circumstances, the carrier being set by the sender before being deposited in the senders sub-station by indicatingfirst, the sub-station to which the carrier should be sent, and secondly, the individual to receive the carrior at the designated sub-station.- The carrier isthen despatched from the senders substation to the central station and thence passed to the receiving sub-station the operator at central station, as before described, be-

ing required merely to take cognizance of the receiving sub-station designation. In despatch systems of this character, it is preferable to provide a suitable marking on the carrier forl designating the individual sender. This marking may be a permanent mark as indicated by the characters Dept 26, as illustrated on the carrier in Fig. 1.. When the carrier is desired for use, asV

already described in `cash systems, that is, always immediately returnable from the central station to the station whence it carne and to the individual despatching it, no such marking is necessary, but where an in- 'terchange of the carriers between sub-stations takes place then as the color designations and the numeral designations, as described, indicate only the receiving sub-station and the individual to Whom the carrier is sent, it is convenient to have a mark on the carrier, las indicated, to designate the individual sender.

It frequently happens that when the carrier is received at its destination and is opened, it is found necessary to return the contents to thc sender on account of errors, or for other reasons. In such cases the designation, as, for example, "Dept 26 appearing in Fig. 1, may be supplemented by particular designation to be disclosed bythe adjustable band Il. For example, the color white as shown in this embodiment of the invention may be set apart as a color not referring to any particular sub-station but known vthroughout the entire system as indicating that the carrier showing the markthus specifically described, butA i 1. In a carrier or receptacle, the combination with a main body portion, of an indicator carried thereby and adapted to expose to view simultaneously a plurality of like designations.

2. In a carrier or receptacle, the combination with a main body portion, of an adjustable indicator encircling said carrier and adapted to expose to view simultaneously a plurality ofllke designations.

Ii. In a carrier or receptacle. the combination with a main body portion, of an adjustable indicator and an auxiliary indicator embodying a separate and distinct system of signals from said rst mentioned indicator.

4. In a carrier or receptacle, the combination with a main body portion, of an adjustable indicator, and an' auxiliary indicator adapted to expose'to view simultaneously :i plurality of like designations embodying a system of markings distinct from that employed on said rst men- In a carrier or receptacle, the combination with a malnbody portion, of an adjustable indicator adapted to identify/the carrier by the receiver, and receiving substation indicator employing a system of signals distinct from said first mentioned indicator. f"

6. In`a carrier or receptacle, the combination with a main body p'ortion, of n numeral indicator and `an indicator adapted to expose to view designations embodying a system easily distinguishable from said numeral indicator.

7. In a carrier or receptacle, the combination with a main b'ody portion, of a numeral indicator, and an indicator adapted to expose to view simultaneously a plurality of like designations.

8. In a carrier or receptacle, the combination with a` main body portion, of an adjustable indicator adapted to identify said carrier by the receiver, and an adjustable indicator encircling said carrier and adapted to expose to l0. ln Aa carrier for conveying articles from one of a plurality of sub-stations to a central station, the combina tion of a body portion, a plurality of different signs thereon for indicating respectively different individuals at the substation, and another sign on the carrier for indicating,r the sub-station to which it belongs. v

11. In a carrier or receptacle, the combination of a body portion, a plurality of different signs thereon for indicating respectively different individuals at a substation, a plurality of other distinguishable signs on the carrier for indicating the sub-station to which it belongs and means for indicating any one o the latter signs at will.

12. ln a carrier or receptacle, the combination of a body portion, a plurality of different signs thereon for indicating respectively different individuals at a sub-station, a plurality of diii'erent colors on the carrier :for indicating different sub-stations und means for indicating a plural ity of the colors at one time at will. 13. In a carrier or receptacle, the combination of a body portion, a sign thereon indicating the sender, a plurality of diierent signs thereon for indicating respectively different individuals at the receiving sub-station, and another sign on the carrier for indicating the receiving sub-station.

14. In a carrier for conveying articles from one of a pluralityv of sub-stations by way of a common. central station to another of the said sub-stations, the combination of a body portion, a sign thereon indicating the sender, a plurality of different signs for indicating respectively different individdals at the receiving sub-station, -and another sign onA the Vcarrier' for indicating the receiving sub-V station.

15. In a carrier for conveying articles from one of a plurality of sub-stations by way of a commo'n central station to another of the said sub-stations, the combination of a. body portion, a sign thereon indicating the sender, a plurality of different signs for indicating respectively' different lndividuals at the receiving sub-station, a plurality of other distinguishable signs on the carrier for indicating the receiving sub-stations and means for indicating any one of the latter signs at will.

16. In a carrier the combination of a body portion and a sign indicator, embodying a character or color' bearing surface, a movable cover member adapted to expose the said character orcolor bearing surface at will; and meansl whereby the movable cover member is prevented from abrading the character or color bearing surface.

17. In o. carrier or receptacle, the combination with a main body portion, of an indicator' carried thereby and adapted 4to expose to view simultaneously `like colors in' a plurality of places thereon.

18. In a carrier or receptacle, the combination with a main body portion, of an adjustable indicator encircling said carrier and adapted to'expose to view simultaneously like colors in a plurality of places thereon.

l19. In a carrier or receptacle, the combination with a main body portion, of an adjustable indicator, and an auxiliary adjustable indicator embodying a separate and diS- tinct system of signals from said first mentioned indicator.

20. In' a carrier or receptacle, the combination' with a main bodyportion, of an adjustable indicator, and an aux- 21. In n carrier or receptacle, the combination with a nain body portion, of an adjustable indicator adapted to identify said carrier by the receiver-and an adjustable indicator encircling Said carrier and adapted to expose to 5 vlewslmultaneously like` colors in `a plurality of places thereon for the purpose ot identifying the carrier by the receiving sub-station.

22. In n carrier or receiver, the combination with a main body portion, ot' :i series of varied colors arranged 10` in a plurality of like` groups und n 'movable indicator adapted to 'coperate therewith and to expose to view simultaneously like colors in a plurality of places thereon.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscrbinnr witnesses. on this 9th dayy of January, A. D. 1907.

MARTIN C. SCII WAB.

Witnesses A. L. SPmNKLn, C. H. Smm.. 

